Word Study At A Glance

A part of our daily schedule is Word Study. While recently we have been working with the vocabulary component, in the future, Word Study will also focus on spelling. Because this approach to spelling and vocabulary may be new to some students and parents, I thought I'd put together a "Word Study At A Glance". Please see below. Thanks!

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Word Study At A Glance

What is Word Study?

Word study is a learner-centered, conceptual approach to phonics, spelling, word recognition, and vocabulary instruction.  Through active exploration, word study teaches students to examine words and discover specific regularities, patterns, letter relationships, etc.  In addition, word study also increases word knowledge--spelling and meaning, or vocabulary.  Research shows that the number one indicator of reading achievement and growth is a student’s depth of vocabulary.

• Word study isn’t about memorizing spelling words but about understanding spelling patterns.
• Word study encourages students to manipulate groups of words and compare them to words that are phonetically similar.
• Word study is a research-based, purposeful look at word analysis.

Purpose of Word Study

As a component of balanced literacy, word study achieves two goals; first to help students become fluent readers with a strong vocabulary, and secondly, to give students the opportunity to fully explore and manipulate words.

How Does Word Study Work?

Through discovery and exploration, students notice specific letter patterns and concepts in the spelling of words.   Word study involves problem solving in the form of developing hypotheses, searching for patterns, predicting outcomes, and experimenting to find out if they’re right.  Using hands-on, engaging lessons, students compare new words to words they already know and look for similarities.  Through word study, students use and apply what they discovered about letter relationships, patterns, etc. to spell words they may be unfamiliar with.  

The basis of word study works toward current research that indicates when students build on their prior knowledge to construct new learning and have ownership in that learning (i.e. when they create knowledge themselves rather than being explicitly taught by a teacher), they are more likely to retain and apply their knowledge across time and subject areas.  Furthermore, ownership yields a significant conceptual, critical understanding of language, and fosters a real world application of knowledge.

Homework:

• Math homework
• Read 20 minutes 

Reminders:

• Early Dismissal this Friday
• Food Drive:  Donations are being accepted for any non-perishable food items.  Thank you!

Classroom Supplies:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill